Fire-extinguisher.



W. F. LAUTERBACH.

FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 19, 1917.

Patented May 6, 1919.

A TTOR/VEY UNITED STATES PATENT onnion.

WILLIAM F. LAUTRRBAOH,OF DAYTON, OHIO, AssIeNO BY MEsNE ASSIGNMENTS, or ONE-HALF TO THE RALKO PRODUCTS COMPANY, OF DAYTON, OHIO, a CORPORATION OF OHIO.

FIRE-EXTING UISHER.

Patented May 6, 1919.

Application filed November 19, 1917. Serial 1101202,?10.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. LAUTER- BACH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire- Extinguishers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This inventionqrelates to fire extinguishers of that type which are held in the hand during the discharge of the fire extinguishing liquid therefrom.

Fire extinguishers of this type now on the market forthe most part, if not exclusively, employ pumping mechanism, arranged within the casing, to cause the discharge of the fire extinguishing liquid therefrom. They are open to several more or less serious Objections, one of the principal of which is a tendency of the pumping mechanism, either the valves or the piston, to stick, due to the action of the chemical solution in which the mechanism is immersed. Further, they are not easy to operate and it is very difficult to direct the stream accurately on the fire during the pumping operation; moreover they sometimes leak and, as a result of either leakage or sticking of the parts, it not infrequently happens that when the emergency arises and it is desired to use the extinguisher it is found to be either wholly or partially inoperative.

The object of the present invention is to overcome these difficulties by providing a fire extinguisher of this type from which the fluid will be discharged automatically after the mechanism has been set in operation.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a fire extinguisher of this type in which the mechanism will be of such a character that there will be little or no likelihood of its sticking.

To this end it is also anobject of the invention to provide a fire extinguisher of this type in which the fire extinguishing fluid will be discharged by means of a piston which will be actuated by the expansive force of gas generated in the extinguisher in the rear of the piston.

It is also an object of the invention to provide an extinguisher of this type havmg means to prevent the inadvertent, or accldental, operation thereof, but in which the operating mechanism can be released and set in operation by a single movement on the part of the operator,

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view taken centrally through a fire extinguisher embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of such an extinguisher taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows; and Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

I11 these drawings I have illustrated one embodiment of my invention and have shown the same as comprising a cylindrical casing 1 adapted to contain a fire extinguishing liquid, or solution, of a suitable character, and provided with a discharge opening, which, in the present instance, comprises a discharge nozzle 2 provided with a controlling valve 3. Mounted within the cylindrical casing, and arranged normally at one end thereof, is a piston 4: adapted to be moved toward the discharge nozzle 2 and to force the liquid through the same. This piston may be of any suitable character and of any suitable material, but I prefer to form the same of wood which has been boiled in paraffin, as a piston of this character is not subject to corrosion, is self-lubricating, and is subject to very little expansion, or contraction.

The piston is preferably actuated by means 1 of an expansible gas confined within the casing 1 between the piston and that end of the casing opposite the discharge opening, which in the present instance comprises a removable cylinder head 5. It is impractical to store a gas in the casing under pressure because there is almost sure to be more or less leakage of the gas, and consequently if a considerable period of time elapses between the charging of the fire extinguisher and the occasion for the use of the same there is liable to have been so much leakage of the gas that the device will be either wholly inoperative, or its efiiciency will be very greatly impaired. I, therefore, propose to mount on, or within, the casing, a suitable container, or containers, in which will be stored a gas generating substance, or substances, and to provide means for placing the same in communication with the interior of the casing so that the gas generated by rob such substance, or substances, will be confined between the piston and the end of the cylinder. This may be accomplished in various ways and there are various chemicals which may be utilized for generating the gas. In the present form of the device, however, I have made provision for the employment of two chemicals, which when mixed will quickly generate a gas in suflicient quantities to create the necessary pressure to so actuate the piston as to cause the fire extinguishing liquid to be discharged in a stream powerful enough for all ordinary purposes, and which in practice is found to be much stronger than the stream ordinarily obtained from the fire extinguishers now on the market. I have, therefore, ar ranged within the casing two containers, one of which, the container 6, contains sodium bicarbonate, and the other of which, the'container 7, contains hydrochloric acid. These containers may be arranged and supported in any suitable manner, and various means may be provided for establishing communication between the containers and the interior of the casing in the rear of the piston so that the chemicals will be mixed and the gas generated and confined between the piston and the end of the cylinder. I prefer to utilize a container which can be hermetically sealed and of material, such as glass, whieh can be easily broken, because such a container is inexpensive and the charge can be readily renewed, and the container can be broken to place the same in communication with the interior of the easing by means of a very simple device. The containers'may be mounted on or within the casing l in difiere nt ways, but I have in the present instance shown them both as mounted within the piston 4 which is recessed to receive them. When a round container is employed these recesses can be very easily formed by a simple boring operation, and

the two recesses can be placed in communication one with the other without permitting the containers themselves to come in contact one with the other. As shown in the drawings, the two recesses, 8 and 9, are arranged close one to the other. The intervening portion of the piston is cut away, as shown at 10, preferably for the full depth of the recesses, thus permitting of a free intermingling of the contents of the two containers when they have been broken. The device for breaking the containers, and establishing communication between the same and the interior of the casing, may take various forms, and in the present instance I have shown the same as comprising a breaking member in the form of a disk 11, which is preferably provided with depending teeth 12, and which is of such a diameter that it will overlap both containers. This disk is carried by an actuating rod 13 which extends through the cylinder head 5 and has at its outer end a knob 1 1. A spring 15 coiled about the rod 13 holds the breaking member, or disk, 11, normally out of contact with the containers, but a sharp blow upon the knob 14 will force the breaking member inwardly against the tension of the spring and drive the teeth of the breaking member against the containers, and thus breaking the same. In the present construction the containers are shown as extending slightly above the top of the piston, but this is not essential. The opening through which the rod 13 extends may be closed, to prevent the leakage of gas about the rod, in any suitable manner, but I have, in the present device, shaped the opening to form a valve seat 16 and have provided the actuating rod 13 with an enlarged portion 17 which constitutes a valve, and is adapted to fit snugly against the valve seat, as I find that such a closure is less likely to leak than is the usual stufiing box. As there is no pressure upon the piston it will ordinarily remain near the end of the casing within when the latter is in an upright position, but, if desired, suitable retaining devices may be provided to resist any tendency of the piston to move downwardly, and in the present construction I have shown the piston as provided with a series of spring fingers 18, which bear against the wall of the casing and are sufliciently strong to resist any normal tendency of the piston to move downwardly, but will not seriously interfere with the movement 100 of the piston under the action of the gas when this has been generated in the casing.

It is also desirable that some means be provided to prevent the inadvertent operation of the breaking device. While this may 105 be accomplished in different ways, it is preferable that it should'be so accomplished that a minimum number of operations will be necessary to release the chemicals and cause the generation of gas. By inclosing 110 the actuating rod 13 and its knob 14 in a breakable 110115111 such as a thin glass dome,

19, which may be readily secured to the cylinder head 5, by screw-threading the same into a flange 20, the breaking device 116 can be operated by a single movement on the part of the operator, that is, by grasping the casing 1 in the hand and striking the breakable housing 19 against a wall the housing will be broken and the breaking 120 device forced into engagement with the containers.

The operation of the device will be readily understood from the foregoing description and it will be apparent that when itis de- 125 sired to use the fire extinguisher the breaking device is actuated, as by striking the end of the same against the wall, to break the containers and release the gas generating substances which they contain. The gas 180 thus generated being confined between the piston and the end wall of the casing will exert a strong pressure upon the piston, which will be resisted by the liquid con tained in the casing. As soon as the valve 8 in the discharge nozzle is opened this pres sure will move the piston toward the discharge nozzle and will cause the liquid to be discharged through the latter in a constant and powerful stream. As will be apparent the device is very simple and very inexpensive in its constructionand there are no parts whichare liable to corrode and stick, and no action is required on the part of the operator, to cause the discharge of the liquid, after the breaking device has been operated and the valve 3 opened. The device can be easily recharged, if desired, by removing thecylinder head 5 and placing within the casing new containers and refilling the casing with the fire extingulshing liquid. It will also be apparent that the device is of such a character that it may be supported when idle, or may be operated, in any position.

In the present construction I have shown both gas generating substances as contained in frangible containers and have shown both containers as carried by the piston, but it will be obvious that various modifications of this arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

While I have shown and described one embodiment of my invention I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the details of construction as various modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a fire extinguisher, a casing to contain a fire extinguishing liquid and having a discharge opening, a piston mounted in said casing to discharge the liquid through said opening, said piston being adapted to support a gas generating substance, and means controlled from the exterior of said casing to cause a second gas generating substance to come in contact with the first mentioned sub stance.

2. In a fire extinguisher, a casing to contain a fire extinguishing liquid and having a discharge opening, a piston mounted in said casing to discharge the liquid through said opening, said piston having a recess therein to receive a gas generating substance. and means controlled from the exterior of said casing to cause a second gas generating substance to come in contact with the first mentioned substance.

3. In a fire extinguisher, a casing to contain a fire extinguishing liquid and having a discharge opening, a piston mounted in said casing to discharge the liquid through said opening, said piston having a recess therein to receive a gas generating substance, and means controlled from the exterior of said casing to cause a second gas generating sub stance to enter said recess and come in contact with the first mentioned substance.

4. In a fire extinguisher, a casing to con tam a fire extinguishing llquid and havlng a discharge opening,a piston mounted in said casing to discharge the liquid through said opening, a container for a gas generating substance carried by said piston, and means operable from the exterior of said casing to release the contents of said container.

5. In a-fire extinguisher, a casing to containa fire extinguishing liquid and havinga discharge opening, a piston mounted in said casing to discharge the liquid through said opening, said piston having a recess therein, a breakable container mounted in the recess in said piston, and means operable from the exterior of said casing for breaking said container to release its contents.

6. In a fire extinguisher, a casing to contain a fire extinguishing liquid and havinga discharge opening, a piston mounted in said casing to discharge the liquid through said opening, containers carried by said piston and containing substances which when combined will form a gas, and means for releasing the contents of said containers and permitting them to combine one with the other.

7. In a fire extinguisher, a casing to contain a fire extinguishing liquid and having a discharge opening, a piston mounted in said casing to discharge the liquid through said opening, a breakable container carried by said piston, and means controlled from the exterior of said casing to break said container.

8. In a fire extinguisher, a casing to contain a fire extinguishing liquid and having a discharge opening, a piston mounted in said casing to discharge the liquid through said opening, said piston having a recess to receive a gas generating substance, a breakable container supported adjacent to said recess and adapted to contain a second gas generating substance, and means controlled from the exterior of said casing to break said container to permit its contents to enter said recess.

9. In a fire extinguisher, a casing to contain a fire extinguishing liquid and having a discharge opening, a piston mounted in said casing to discharge the liquid through said opening, said piston having communieating recesses, breakable containers mounted in said recesses and containing substances which when combined will generate a gas, and means operable from the exterior of said casing to break said containers.

10. In a fire extinguisher, a casing to contain a fire extinguishing liquid and having a discharge opening, a piston mounted in said casing to discharge the liquid through ai ensuin S i pis n a in mmu cating recesses, breakable containers mounted in said recesses and containing substances which when combined will generate a gas,

a breaking device arranged adjacent to said containers and held normally out of engagement therewith, and a rod connected with said device and extending through the wall of said casing.

aid p nin ontaine carried y d i tonv and containing substances which w en combined will generate a gas, a breaking device arranged adjacent to the ends of said containers, an actuating rod connected with said device and extending through the end wall of said casing, and a spring acting on said rod to hold said breaking device normally in an inoperative position.

12. In a fire extinguisher, a casing to con tain a fire extinguishing liquid and having a discharge opening at one end thereof, and an opening in the opposite end thereof, said last-mentioned opening being shaped to constitute a valve seat, a piston mounted within said ca sing to discharge the liquid through said discharge opening, containers for gas generating substances carried by said piston, a breaking device arranged adjacent to said containers, a rod connected with said breaking device and extending through the opening in thatend of said casing opposite the discharge opening, a valve member carried by said rod adapted to engage sa d valve seat when said breaking device is in its normal inoperative position, and a spring to retain said breaking device in said normally inoperative position.

13. In a fire extinguisher, a casing to contain a fire extinguishing liquid and having a' discharge opening at one end thereof and an opening at the opposite end thereof, a piston mounted in said casing to discharge the liquid through said discharge opening, breakable containers for gas generating substances carried by said piston, a disk-like breaking member having depending teeth arranged adjacent to the ends of said containers, and an actuating device connected with said breaking device and extending through the opening in that end of the casing opposite the discharge opening.

14. In a fire extinguisher, a casing to contain a fire extinguishing liquid and having a discharge opening at one end thereof and an opening at the opposite end thereof, a piston mounted in said casing to discharge the liquid through said discharge opening, breakable containers for gas generating substances carried by said piston, a breaking member mounted in said casing adjacent to said containers, an actuating device for said breaking member extending through the opening in that end of said casing opposite said discharge opening, and a breakable housing inclosing that portion of said actuating device which extends beyond the'end of said casing.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature hereto.

WILLIAM F. LAUTERBACI-I.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for f ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. C. 

